Embroidered Memories: Souvenirs That Tell a Story
I try to travel light, carry few possessions and purchase the minimal of souvenirs. Ironically, I used to make my living from selling keepsakes: antiques, jewelry, vintage clothing, furniture-all kinds of stuff-often to people who were traveling.
My Cape Cod shop was located in a vacation destination, and subsequently I traveled up and down the East Coast participating in Antiques Shows in Florida, Atlanta and Washington D.C. where many of the shoppers were “visitors.” What I sold them often served as their souvenirs.
I stopped collecting antiques a long time ago. I’m happy with what I own. I do not need more.
Stories and poems are much more satisfying. They require virtually no physical space. But every so often I crave a touchstone. One or two items I can admire, perhaps wear, and be reminded of my travels. Invariably I buy a T-shirt if I can find a local shirt, preferably unique to the area. And if I can find something beautiful, a handknit sweater, or embroidered blouse, I am a happy consumer.
“Do you have a place you can recommend for finding an embroidered peasant blouse?” I asked our Bulgarian guide, when we first arrived in Sofia.
She was more interested in talking about the earlier cultures that once occupied the land, the Thracians, Greeks and Romans, along with Bulgaria’s unique rose oil industry. “A nice souvenir,” she suggested, “would be some Rose Oil perfume or soap.”
As a teenager I’d worn the Ukrainian peasant shirt that once belonged to the family of my great Aunt Vera. Yellowed with age, made of heavy linen, eventually it became too old and discolored to wear. I wanted to find something similar. On the rack of a souvenir shop I found a selection of embroidered blouses, more expensive than I’d anticipated, but not beyond my budget. Geometric in design, I was pleased.
Once we crossed the border into Romania, however, I wanted another. When I saw the display of peasant attire at the Museum of Village Life outside Bucharest, I was fascinated by all the embroidery variations in color and style. Each village had its own signature design. I post a few photographs here taken at the Museum of Village Life.
You can buy a handmade Romanian blouse in the Museum’s gift shop. The prices start at $600 and go up from there. In Sunday’s New York Times (May 25) there is an article about Romanian peasant blouses. They have become a nationalist symbol worn by politicians of the far right, so much so that some leaning towards the left, do not want to be seen wearing them. Like everything else popular, there are many “knock offs” made in China and India. And to think I thought only tourists wanted to purchase them.
My interest in embroidered goods is not limited to Slavic countries. Since Thanksgiving I’ve been wearing the beautiful embroidered baseball hat my daughter Alex gave me, that was purchased in mid coast California and I own a number of embroidered dresses and blouses from Mexico and Peru. In childhood my collecting fancy was foreign dolls, and it was the unusual clothing that they wore that captured my imagination.
In the end, for my Romanian blouse I found one to fit my budget by purchasing one in a souvenir shop that was made for a child, size 14. While it is made in Romania, I can’t swear the embroidery was not done by machine, but I like the colors and style. And that’s my touchstone.
My grandmother owned a big selection of colorful embroidery thread and with a piece of linen and an embroidery hoop she showed me how to do the running stitch and make French knots with the thread. Maybe that’s the start of a story.
Think of something you treasured from childhood that you no longer own. Write a story, fact or fiction, about trying to find it again.
What made it important to you? Describe it well, so that reader might crave the same item. Create a conflict by having someone else compete with you for that same item. Who prevails? What did you learn?
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Originally published at http://nadjamaril.com on May 27, 2025.
